Hugs

Two pandas are building each their own house. They meet. They look at each other. They like each other. And then? How can they express their affection? How can each one let the other feel their heartbeat? How can they share the most precious gift of all?
They have to go to school, a special one in this case: a school of hugs. Yes, because through hugs we can express many things: we can find courage when we're afraid, we can celebrate a victory, the joy of a meeting or the hope of meeting again when we take leave of one another. In this way our two pandas learn to show their feelings until they're able to share the greatest of all, that makes the world colorful and even makes bamboo grow.

Our starting point was a reflection on the communicative power of a simple gesture such as a hug: we are born from a hug, a hug is what we most often seek when we feel upset, when we meet someone again after a long time, when we want to express an uncontainable joy. As a gesture, It's the perfect depiction of sharing, of union, of tenderness. It's a gesture which children seek and feel as natural within their scope of affection but which must be learnt again and again with each new meeting.

HUGS represents, then, a new step on the part of 'Teatro Telaio' towards a phenomenological exploration of the emotions. After having witnessed the birth of a friendship in 'The story of a child and a penguin', in this new chapter we explore emotions and just how difficult it is sometimes to express them. We feel certain that this is an area which can be both amusing and touching, able to help everyone - adults and children - reflect.